Overdose prevention efforts around the nation demonstrate the immense value and efficacy of a public health and safety approach to the problem of drug misuse in society. Proven strategies are available to reduce the harms associated with drug use, treat dependence and addiction, improve immediate overdose responses, enhance public safety and prevent fatalities.

Law enforcement attitudes towards medical marijuana in California have been mixed. Generally, many law enforcement officials and associations have been hostile to medical marijuana, since California’s voters legalized it in 1996 and continuing today.

A public health approach to drug policy is a coordinated, comprehensive effort that balances public health and safety in order to create safer, healthier communities, measuring success by the impact of both drug use and drug policies on the public’s health.

Enacted in 1973 under then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the Rockefeller Drug Laws mandated extremely harsh prison terms for possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Although intended to target “kingpins,” most people incarcerated under the laws were convicted of low-level, nonviolent, first-time offenses. The laws marked an unprecedented shift towards addressing drug use and abuse through the criminal justice system instead of through the medical and public health systems.

Historically, Byrne Grants have been used primarily to finance drug task forces, which have a record of racially disproportionate lowlevel drug arrests and increased local and state costs with no measurable impact on public safety.